Darkness
The Darkness, also known as Shadow Mario, Dark Mario, and the Voice, was a substance and Nox Decious' former henchman. It was created by Decious with the ancient spell El Nox de la Shateu, translating to the Darkness of the Shadow. Decious created the Darkness to bind his soul to the Stone of Righteousness. Eventually, the Darkness redeems himself and joins Mario's gang, betraying Decious in the process. The Darkness was the secondary antagonist of Season Three, the main antagonist of The Movie, one of the main antagonists in Season Four, and a supporting protagonist in Season Five. Biography Background When Nox Decious was researching the Stone of Righteousness and its powers of preventing death, he wanted to fuse it with his body so it wouldn't be taken from him. After having his face terribly scarred by Merlin, Decious cast the ancient spell El Nox de la Shateu, which translates to "The Darkness in the Shadow." This spell created the Darkness, which Decious said would be a tool to assist in his dominating of the Real World. He sent the Darkness, his new henchman, to find the Stone of Righteousness, connect the stone to itself, and merge itself to his soul. Season Three When Nox Decious was killed, the Darkness needed a new body to attach itself to and it knew that the most powerful person was Mario, so it chose to attach itself to him, in order to gain more power. It possessed Mario in a form of rage, making him attack Wario. The Darkness then combined the energy that it took from his former boss with the energy it took from Mario and left him. It left Mario weak, but it had enough power to sustain itself and take physical form. Darkness took on the form of its most powerful host: Mario. However, Merlin was unaware that Mario was the Darkness' most powerful host and assumed that it would take Decious' form. ]] The Darkness really never had much of a role in Season Three because Wario was the main antagonist back then. The third season only shows how the Darkness was formed and was used for foreshadowing Stupid Mario Brothers: The Movie. However, he did try to convince Waluigi to kill Mario like he did Wario, but fails as Waluigi is smarter and more reasonable than his brother. The Darkness convinces Wario to kill Mario and recharge the saber. It obtains Decious' hidden Black Widow Blade from the Orchard, which he had planned to use to deal the killing blow to Mario during their battle. Later, it is revealed that the Darkness serves Decious as his most trusted henchman. ''The Movie in the dark forest]] The Darkness is trying to help Nox Decious claim a vessel in Luigi so that he may then kill his own boss. As well, he schemes to become immortal and to do so, he decides to eliminate Mario's best friends in order of their strength. The Darkness first confronts Link, who has been lost in the woods for some time. The two have a battle, but Link is killed when the Darkness impales him with the Black Widow Blade. He tries to claim the Artifact, but he is quickly angered when he finds out that Link had already sealed it inside his soul. After losing to Mario once again, the Darkness confronts King Bowser. He tries to strike a deal with the Koopa king, but he denies it and heads back to his portal leading to the Mushroom Kingdom. However, the Darkness says to himself that even if Bowser had become his friend, he would've betrayed and killed him in the end anyway. ]] Later, he arrives at the Orchard once again, saying that once he is rid of "him", he will no longer have to hide in his shadow. The Darkness is then encountered by Ness. Ness tells him that he was informed of this by the letter Mario sent and tries to kill the Darkness. His PK Thunder attack fails, so he tries to charge the Darkness with his baseball bat, which also fails. Ness is defeated, but informs Darkness that he will meet his end very soon. The Darkness is somewhat merciful as he allows Ness to walk away from the battle alive. ]] While Solid Snake is out in the field trying to contact Otacon, Liquid Snake appears behind him, informing him that with his new ally (who turns out to be the Darkness), he will finally take over the Real World. Liquid leaves as the Darkness insults Solid Snake and tries to kill him, but he is stopped by Luigi. The two battle for a short time before Luigi is defeated, as well as having his physical form being taken over by Decious' spirit. Mario shows up after Luigi is supposedly murdered by Decious, lamenting for him. Luigi does get up, only for Mario to be informed that he has been taken over, now going by the name Mr. L. The Darkness stabs Mario from behind with the Black Widow Blade, seemingly killing him. The Darkness says he no longer holds any allegiance toward Decious, informing him that he only served Decious and assisted him in taking over Luigi just so he could kill him and rule the world himself. Shortly after, Wario appears and demands to battle the Darkness, who is able to impale the Black Widow Blade through Wario, presumably killing him. The Darkness believes he didn't have the Truth Stone after all and wonders where it is. Suddenly, Darkness stops in his tracks and monologue and finds that the Nether Saber has been thrown through his back by Wario, who was faking his death and was really protected by the Truth Stone. The Darkness laments having been cut off from having more fun before laughing evilly and presumably dying. Afterwards, Wario retrieves the Black Widow Blade and puts it in his pocket. He then goes over to the Darkness' dead body and tells him to "rest in Hell" before leaving. Later on, it is revealed to Wario by Merlin that only a specific counter-curse can destroy the Darkness in an absolute sense; Waluigi was supposed to give Wario the means to perform this curse, but he ended up forgetting about it. Meanwhile, the Darkness comes back to life, casts off his hat (saying that he doesn't need to associate himself with Mario anymore), and swears revenge on Wario, joyously shouting, "I'm back!". on the battlefield]] Whether Merlin knew it or not, the Darkness had known about the counter-curse, so he forms a long-term plan behind the backs of the heroes. He studies everything Decious had learned, which included his knowledge of beam swords, allowing him to create several beam swords that mimicked and surpassed the power of the Black Widow Blade. When he discarded his hat, he really transferred almost his entire being into it, except his body and mind. He recruits a boy named John, whose name he changes to Blaire Vherestorm, upon striking a deal with the Darkness and the two of them build an energy source designed for after his destruction. Afterwards, Wario returns to battle the Darkness one more time. After an initial struggle, Wario pins the Darkness to the ground, recites the counter curse, and supposedly kills him for good. However, it is revealed that Wario had only managed to kill a shell and the Darkness was actually dormant in the hat. Operation: Blind Storm The Darkness' hat is found by Solid Snake and Ness. When Ness puts it on briefly, the Darkness transfers himself into Ness, possessing him. The Darkness then uses him to lead Snake to the Energy Source. Still being controlled by the Darkness, Ness tells Solid Snake to destroy it while Wario tells him otherwise. Since Ness is psychic, Darkness has always known they would trust him over Wario and Snake proceeds to destroy the source. The Darkness speaks to the entire group, telling them that the Energy Source was a beacon that connected their powers from the other worlds and that they are now powerless. The warriors believed that the Darkness would never rise again, but it is later revealed that the Beacon's destruction only made him more powerful. Season Four With the destruction of the Beacon, the powers of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Ness are transferred to the Darkness, thus making him the most powerful being in existence. However, he is unable to take physical form, so he tries to take a new one because Mario's was the first one that he took. The Darkness soon realizes that his spirit will only take physical form when Mario, Luigi, and their friends regain their powers first. He orders Blaire to create the Trifecta to force Mario and his gang to regain their powers. However, knowing about Ganon's evil plan, he warns Blaire to cease action the moment Mario has gotten his powers in order to have him defeat Ganon, which would allow the Darkness to take over instead. Afterwards, he obtains his physical form, but doesn't let Blaire know about this so that he can be sure Blaire follows his orders. ]] Blaire betrays him by attacking Mario and the Darkness reveals himself. Allowing Mario to escape, the Darkness confronts Blaire. Disgusted at his former apprentice's orders, Darkness kills him with a Black Widow Blade replica and walks off to find and kill Mario. The Darkness explains his plan in its entirety to Mario, why he killed Blaire, and warns him of Ganon. He then walks off in order to build his own army in case Mario fails to defeat Ganon. Season Five The Darkness meets with the General. He tells him of his changing of hair and complains about the General not forming his army. However, he is then shown his army, which he thanks the General for. The Darkness is warned by the General about the upcoming ninja attack. He responds with an attack by his forces and then summons Ken for the task. Darkness, Ken, and General confront Zubashi and the ninjas. The Darkness then summons his pirates to battle the ninjas. After the battle, the pirates end up victorious and Ken knocks out Zubashi. He orders the General to shoot the remaining ninjas except for one to be followed by Ganon's base. The Darkness also tells Ken to follow the ninja back to Ganon's base. ]] The Darkness, Ken, and the General arrive at the base in the midst of Mario's battle with the Legion of Villains. He orders the General to kill the ninjas and freezes the Legion members in place when they rush him, allowing him to confront Ganon alone. In the battle, the Darkness seems to have the upper hand until Ganon overpowers him with a telekinetic push. Defeated, the Darkness teleports Mario, Ken, the General, and the others back to their bases. At his base, the Darkness is angry about Ganon's power while the General suggests looking for Link, an idea that the Darkness turns down as he did kill Link once before. He decides to do something he never thought he had to do while Ken tries to ask what he is talking about. Immediately, the agitated Darkness rushes over to close his mouth. The Darkness meets up with Luigi and Wario and suggests a team-up between their two armies to take down Ganon's. He then gets mad at them for indirectly breaking the fourth wall, an idea which they don't understand. Finally, he then asks them one more time about the team up. Eventually, the Darkness falls asleep while waiting for their answer. They agree to let him work with them and he gives them full use of his pirates. Later, the Darkness is told by Ken about Zubashi and the ninjas' upcoming invasion. The Darkness tells Ryu and Ken to spend their time as they please until the invasion comes. However, he regrets it when he forgets to tell them about getting him something to eat. While waiting for the two to return, the Darkness begins questioning his placement in the war, now believing himself not to want to take over the Real World anymore. Instead, he believes that his purpose is to kill his former boss Nox Decious. ]] With this in mind, the Darkness begins recalling his conversation with Mr. L and how ambivalent Nox Decious was when he had tried to threaten him. The Darkness is then met by the General, who informs him that the ninjas are on their way. Darkness is glad that he'll finally be able to get this over with and General asks him what his orders are. Darkness pauses and then tells the General to go home, granting him an "honorable discharge". General is confused at first and is hesitant, but the Darkness reminds him of his wife and children and dismisses him. The General leaves for good and the Darkness declares it time for the death of Nox Decious. After killing several ninjas, Wario was mortally injured by Decious, and was later carried to Dr. Naomi Hunter by Mona as the Darkness came and took over the battle. ]] Nox Decious spent a majority of the battle moving away as the Darkness brutally tried to attack. As the battle progressed, the Darkness became more and more frustrated when Decious escaped him. Eventually, the two got to the ground and crawled towards each other. Both pulled their beam swords to each other. The Darkness and Decious stabbed each other in the stomach. Decious believed that Ganon would triumph, though Darkness believed he was wrong. He assured Decious that he could find satisfaction in the fact that he finally killed his creator. As Decious toppled over, the Darkness fell silent for a few seconds before realizing it was the end and dropping to the ground. ]] Later, as Mario was in Hyrule, still getting training from Merlin, Mario realized he could not remove the Master Sword. The Darkness spoke to Mario and agreed to give his spirit up along with Link and Merlin so they could combine their souls to give him the power needed, but giving up was remained of themselves to Mario. This gives him power enough to wield the Master Sword and kill Ganon. Character Overview Originally, the Darkness was pure evil as it was created by evil magic from Nox Decious. The Darkness grew to have eventually hated Decious as it was forced to live inside him for centuries. When the Darkness took on human form, it began to become overpowered by Mario's spirit. Eventually, the Darkness found that it wasn't truly evil anymore. It eventually died after not only killing its former boss, but saving Wario's life in the process. Personality The Darkness' personality went through multiple changes throughout the series. Not much was explored throughout Season Three, but he was shown to be a calm and calculating individual, only showing anger when Nilrem revealed himself to be Merlin. In the film, he was shown to be more mentally unstable, breaking into fits of insane laughter and describing all the horrible things he did and could have done as "fun". Also, he was determined to differentiate himself from the real Mario, and often referred to the latter simply as "him" in a derisive manner, except when he addressed Mario, where he called him by the name. Despite his love for killing, he showed mercy on Ness by letting him go after defeating him. Despite his insanity, the Darkness is highly intelligent, finding out about Merlin's counter curse to kill him and working out a long term plan to rise to power and take over the world. However, the Darkness can carry a conversation well enough. He has a sense of humor and can be playful at times. This side of him is mostly seen in Season Five as he has dreams of fighting Decious and enjoys reading magazines, ironically enough, the same sort as Decious. However, by the end of Season Five, he begins to question what his goal is, no longer desiring conquest. According to Rich Alvarez in the May 13th update, the Darkness has become more humane from absorbing the heroes' powers. This shows when he dismisses the General right before the major battle, showing genuine concern for the well-being of the General's family if he were to die. Abilities / Skills As his physical body was created from the combined energy of Mario and Nox Decious, the Darkness has their combined power at his disposal. He mostly displays Mario's abilities, such as throwing fireballs and is also able to teleport and turn invisible like Decious. Because both Mario and Decious are both skilled with a beam sword, the Darkness demonstrates great skill himself. He was also able to perfect Decious' knowledge and techniques, allowing him to create superior replicas of the Black Widow Blade. The Darkness is also capable of surviving mortal wounds to some extent: when he fought Wario in "Act II Part 3," he was able to recover from being impaled through the back with the Nether Saber, though he was in a death-like state for some time. Later, he told Mario that the killing blow Wario dealt him in their second battle would have indeed killed him had he not stored his essence in his hat. After the events of ''Operation: Blind Storm, he also obtained the combined powers of Wario, Luigi, and Ness. Attire In his original form, the Darkness looked like a dark version of Mario. He wore black overalls over a black shirt with chains under a trench coat and black gloves. He wore a hat similar to Mario's and had dark rings around his eyes. He wielded the Black Widow Blade until his first duel with Wario. Eventually, he got rid of his trench coat and discarded his hat, saying that he has "no need of that disgusting thing anymore," as he did not want to associate itself with Mario, the latter of which he transferred a large percentage of his being. Before his "final" fight with Wario, he seemed to have required a necklace and his hair had orange highlights. In Season Four, his attire is drastically different. Although he still wears the overalls, shirt and the chains he now wears a leather trench coat and has smaller circles around his eyes. His hair is turned red, which he claims he dyed, but is truly a side effect of Mario's energy as both the Darkness and "him" grew stronger. In Season Five, the Darkness has dyed his hair closely back to its black color, as he was told that "red was not in this year". He is seen without his necklace until the last few episodes. Also, his hair style constantly changes, in the movie, it was sort of flat with a curve in the front, in the last few episodes, (like episode 75) his hair is more like a mohawk. Relationships Mario The Darkness as Wario refers to it is Mario's shadow. In the movie, the two were enemies. In Episode 66, Wario welcomes the Darkness as an ally in hopes of defeating Ganondorf. The Darkness does not seem to have a problem with working with Mario. In Episode 75, he even sacrifices his spirit of power to Mario to kill Ganondorf even asking Mario to take Ganon's head, showing that he still has his own agenda even in death. Nox Decious The Darkness was originally created by his original boss Nox Decious, but it fed off of his heart for generations. When the Darkness finally split from Decious, he pretended to recognize Decious as his master. However, after he killed Mario and Decious took over Luigi's body, he officially split from Decious, stating that he never cared about Decious and only wanted to give him a new body just for the purpose of killing Decious himself, which he eventually did in episode 75 after Nox was resurrected by Ganon. He has then grown to hate Decious more and more. In Episode 73, the Darkness states that his only purpose is to kill Nox Decious. In Episode 75, the Darkness and Nox Decious do battle, which results in the two killing each other. However, the Darkness doesn't mind his death, as he killed Nox Decious. The only reason he had for doing so was to finally rid himself of his past. Trivia * Rich Alvarez did not expect Darkness to be so popular with the fans. "I'm actually really surprised at how much people liked The Darkness. The entire time I was playing the character I was always worried that I was doing it wrong and/or bad... I thought he would come off too stupid." * Shadow Mario is never referred to as such on-screen; the other characters only refer to it as "the Darkness." However, both Rich Alvarez and Chris Muller have referred to him as "Shadow Mario." Most notably in the video Unpersuasive Persuasion. * Darkness is actually not human nor is it alive really, since it is only a substance that took on the form of Mario. However, in Act II Part 6, Wario says the counter curse "Obscurem Absentis Humanis," which is Latin for "Darkness be gone and become human." However, the Darkness revealed that it was actually mortal the entire time and was able to survive Wario's killing blows because he stored its being in his hat. Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Original characters Category:Season Three Category:Season Four Category:Season Five Category:The Movie Category:Operation: Blind Storm Category:The Brotherhood of Darkness Category:Deceased